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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25167082">age of icons</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/feychella/pseuds/feychella'>feychella</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>pure entropy [6]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>The Adventure Zone (Podcast)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Campaign: Graduation (The Adventure Zone), Gen, Hurt</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-07-09</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-07-09</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 05:34:10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Major Character Death</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,056</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25167082</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/feychella/pseuds/feychella</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Fitzroy loses his friends - his world - to the war.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>pure entropy [6]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1848211</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>9</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>32</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>age of icons</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>I haven't written any hurt for TAZ recently! I'll edit it eventually but for now, here you go! Enjoy. :)</p><p>Title from "Start a War" by Klergy &amp; Valerie Broussard. Your comments are appreciated.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The earth crunches under his feet as Fitzroy walks in a daze towards the newly made graveyard. The war has raged on for weeks, the demons just kept<em> coming</em>, and he was exhausted<em>. </em>The least he could do was visit his friends. He’d commissioned this graveyard, helping build it with the few students and teachers left. Most every student armed themselves to the teeth to defend against their attackers. His heart swells with pride for his school. Fitz had brought this upon them, after all. This was his fault. He stops on the hill overlooking the field of wildflowers. He used to walk here with Rainer and the Firbolg, learning about the species, picking bouquets to tease Argo. How the times have changed.</p><p>Two headstones sit on top of the hill, surrounded by flowers and letters written from those who were still alive. He collapses to the ground on his knees before his friends, eyes prickling with tears.</p><p>-------</p><p>There was beautiful, bubbly Rainer. She sits in her chair, surrounded by ranks and  ranks of archers, Rhodes standing protectively beside her. Her fingers dart, making quick motions and destroying the demons that pour in towards their small army. Fitzroy remembers slashing away at the demons around him, ranks surging towards him. The fear overcomes him and he sobs, turning like a trapped dog, trying to find a way out before remembering that <em>he did this.</em> Each time he cut one down, three more took his place. Squirrels and foxes dance around the Demon Prince’s ranks, ripping them to pieces. But even Rainer, with her spooky squirrels and everything, was overwhelmed. Barb stands over her as her blood hawk crashes to the ground. She falls too, dead before she hits the ground, black magic sparking against her chest. The enemy warlocks get wiped out by the Firbolg in bear form. He shifts back and lets out a guttural scream that Fitzroy tries to erase from his memory. Fitz remembers the Firbolg streaking past him, a blur running over the ground, and turning as Rhodes screams too.</p><p>The rangers form a tight circle around Rainer, sitting lifeless in her chair. Fitzroy runs towards her, knowing that he won’t be able to do anything, knowing he won’t be able to forgive himself if he doesn’t try. He tilts her head back, trying in vain to pour his last healing potion down her throat, but she’s already unresponsive, blonde hair spilling around the back of her chair. Whatever the demons had done to her, it was magical in some nature. <em>The warlocks...</em>he should've wiped them out sooner. He silently thanks the Firbolg for taking care of that problem as he gets to his feet. He watches the Firbolg take a hit to the shoulder and he roars, shifting into a hawk and clawing at the eyes of his enemies. Shaking his head, he scoops Rainer up out of her chair, taking care to support her head.</p><p>“Go!” He turns to the rangers. “Keep going! I’ll get her to the healers.”</p><p>Fitzroy starts running as fast as he can. <em>You can't save everyone, </em>chides Chaos in the back of his mind. Sweat pours off of him as he dodges attacks and leaps over his fallen classmates. The strength from his rage begins to wear off as he races through the halls of the school, towards the medical ward. The healers are reinforcing the sigils to keep the injured safe, and Moon rushes to Rainer’s side, helping Fitz support her. <em> This medbay needs to be closer to the action. </em>They help Rainer into a bed as Fitzroy paces around the makeshift hospital, helping with the sigils. Althea hands him a flask and he drinks it, re-energized almost instantly. He turns to her, heart sinking in his chest. He knows what she's going to say but he asks anyway. Fitz can't bear knowing, but he also can't bear <em>not </em>knowing. <em>Rainer. </em>Her name is a prayer. <em>Rainer. Rainer. Rainer. </em>He pleads to a god that isn't listening and turns to Althea.</p><p>“Is she...um, Althea? Is Rainer…?”</p><p>“Fitzroy, I’m so sorry.” Althea puts her arms around him and he falls into them, body limp with realization. <em> Rainer is gone. </em> Fitz shoves Althea away from him and turns around. “Fitzroy?” He leaves her standing there, reaching after him, and walks out to where Argo is waiting for him in the hallway. The genasi straightens his back and looks hopefully at Fitzroy. <em>Hope. </em>He wasn't used to seeing that on anyone's face these days, but he could always count on Argo. Of course he could.</p><p>“Rainer, is she alive?”</p><p>Fitzroy stops, looking at the genasi, whose eyes search his own for an answer. He sags against the wall before Fitz gets the chance to say a word. The Firbolg roars from outside and Fitz breaks out of his trance. <em>There's no time for this. </em>His lips are sealed shut as he returns to the battlefield, mute with grief, and he nods to Rhodes, who unleashes a volley of arrows against the enemy that just kept coming, and coming, and coming…</p><p>Lovely Rainer. He leaves his little journal where her body is laid, a final message scrawled into the last pages. <em> Love, Fitzroy</em>. He dots the<em> i </em> with a heart and tries to hold back his tears. If he was a little faster, maybe, just maybe, she would be wheeling around next to him, floating in her magic chair, those<em> damn </em>skeletons scuttling behind her. He would give anything to get tortured by those little skeletons again if it meant seeing her smile one more time.</p><p>He moves on to the next tombstone. <em> Argonaut Keene. </em>He didn't deserve to be six feet under, of course he didn't. He deserved to be next to Fitzroy. He finds himself wishing for a <em>Resurrection </em>spell, selfishly. Maybe grief is selfish. Maybe it's okay. Fitzroy remembers holding him on that cold winter morning.</p><p>-------</p><p>Argo cuts Erinyeses down with his cutlasses, leaping nimbly from enemy to enemy. Losing Rainer had affected them in opposite ways - Fitz had become more closed off, whereas Argo expressed his emotions in a healthier way, like crying or talking about it. The Firbolg...he was already gone. Not, <em>gone</em> gone, but he had run into the forest the night Rainer died and they never found him. They didn't have enough people to send to look for him, anyways. Fitzroy prays that he's safe as a dull ache pounds in his chest. Argo and Fitz fight side-by-side, and he high-fives his partner as they slice in an arc and obliterate the last of the enemies. Breathing hard, Fitzroy sends chromatic orbs spreading out in all directions to finish off any stealthed enemies. Rhodes is positioned in a tree above them, raining arrows on their enemies while Crush whirlwinds around across the field.</p><p>Another surge of demons rush towards the school and Fitzroy closes his eyes, letting the memory of Rainer’s smiles and the Firbolg’s bright eyes fill his mind. The earth crackles around him as he sends out a thunder wave, knocking everyone around him back. Argo flies backward into a tree, hitting it with a sickening<em> crack. </em>Fitz’s heart leaps as the demons start screaming. Chaos flashes before him and he smiles before turning to his henchman, crumpled on the ground. The elation wears off and he stands over Argo. </p><p>“Argo?” The genasi is still breathing as Fitzroy casts firebolts to fend off the imps that hop towards him menacingly. They must know, then, that this is the end. “C’mon, bud, get up.” He can't lose him now. Not after everything. His thunder wave did this, he needed to fix it. His world starts pixelating at the edges and he blinks Chaos' influence away, focusing on Argo's tearstained face.</p><p>“No, Fitzroy, I-” Argo pushes him away and struggles to his feet. Fitzroy sits on the ground, stunned at Argo’s rejection, before realizing that they’re still technically in a <em> war</em>. And this was war, after all. War was painful, it takes and it takes and it keeps taking, and it doesn't stop even after the fighting is over. <em>It's my fault.</em></p><p>So he stands too, fighting shoulder-to-shoulder with his friend until they’re both knee-deep in corpses. An arrow whistles through the air and catches Argo in the shoulder. He pays it no mind and keeps slashing at their enemies. Fitzroy watches in silent horror as another arrow buries itself in the left side of Argo’s chest. The genasi grunts and falls to his knees, hard. Locating the demonic archer, Fitzroy waves a hand and incinerates him instantly. He twirls around and catches Argo before he hits the ground. He can't let him go, not now. No, he needs him.</p><p>“No...Argo, no. Hey, bud, it’s okay. You’re okay. Just...let me get to the healers. Can you hang on for me? Please?” His voice was breaking already. <em>Damn it. </em>He couldn’t be scared, not now, not when Argo was depending on him. The genasi’s eyes start to flutter closed and Fitzroy slaps his face, screaming at him until he focuses on Fitz’s face, blue lips curved in a gentle smile. <em>This can't be the end. Please. </em>Buckminster skids to their side and raises his sword, looking for more attackers to defend from.</p><p>“I’m glad I got to fight with ye.”</p><p>“You’re going to be okay, okay? Please, just let me...Argo, I’m so <em> sorry, </em>let me-”</p><p>Argo reaches up and puts a hand on Fitz’s cheek. Fitzroy lets out a helpless sob at his soft touch - he hadn't been touched like he was worth protecting in <em>a long time - </em>as a bright barrier starts closing a few yards in front of the two of them. <em> Althea. </em> The healers advance down the field, picking up the injured. He helps Argo to his feet, supporting him towards the beds already materializing. Althea’s orange hair is loose as she keeps the barrier up, trembling with the effort and exhaustion. When she sees Argo and Fitzroy limping towards her, out of the corpses of demons, her eyes brighten with tears. Her eyes dart to the side and another arrow slices through Argo’s side. <em> No. No, not again. No, please.<br/>
</em></p><p>Fitzroy catches him as he lurches forward, legs betraying him. The ground erupts, crackling with white magic, as Argo and Fitzroy hit the earth. He huffs out his last breath as Fitzroy carries him to the healers. He screams, finally broken, and a brilliant light spreads out from around him, obliterating the demons that are advancing on the school, threatening to take everything he loves. <em>They already have, </em>he realizes<em>. They took him. They took him from me.  </em></p><p>-------</p><p>Hatred bubbles up in Fitzroy’s chest as he looks over the wildflowers, glowing under the white starlight. There was no one to hold him back now - the Thundermen were gone, gentle Rainer was gone, his friends were<em> gone. </em>He needs to kill Grey. Today, tomorrow, he doesn’t care. Soon. He’d wipe out his army, then advance on Grey. There isn't any other option, is there? This was his fault. Fitzroy would blast the self-stylized Demon Prince, make him hurt, and then laugh as he begs for death. But he would pay for the lives he took, the friends he took, the world he took from Fitzroy. He would fix this - he <em>had to</em> - because he did this to them. Fitz falls back into the grass. <em>I brought the demons here. I killed them.</em></p><p>Chaos laughs in his mind, echoing and amplifying his thoughts. <em>This is your fault. </em>Fitzroy looks down at the tombstones of his friends. The Firbolg would be coming around to set flowers on every stone soon, so he didn't have much time. He sets a few wildflowers around Argo's name. <em>I love you,</em> he thinks, hoping that his friends can hear him wherever they are. A sharp pain arcs through his chest, pulsing where his heart used to be. Putting a hand over his chest, he feels for his heartbeat. It bumps gently against his chest.Somehow, he's still alive. <em>Alive. </em>He doesn't deserve to be. Sitting up, he vows to destroy the Prince even if it kills him. For his friends, it was worth it. He'd make it worth all the pain.</p><p>Besides, isn't that what a hero would do?</p>
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